Alchemy Desserts Founder Brandi Lansill specializes in creating custom, buttercream cakes for every occasion. Brandi has been cooking professionally since the age of 15. She cut her teeth in the industry cooking in Michelin-starred restaurants in her hometown of Los Angeles, California. After a 2011 move to Portland, she became very passionate about seasonal cooking, building relationships with local farmers and foragers as well as applying her skills to support community outreach. Each of Brandi’s cakes is designed not just to taste incredible but to bring a little extra sparkle to life's special moments.

Right now, Anamika Vial sells one thing: fresh pretzels—butter highly recommended, German-style. “In southern Germany, where I lived, buttered pretzels are a daily routine for millions,” Vial says. “I knew they had to be experienced in Portland.”  Her baking journey started with a simple sourdough book 10 years ago.

Today, Vial shares her passion for European bread traditions at pop-ups across town. Don’t expect the doughy pretzels from your local pub. Vial’s feature a soft, chewy body, crisp, thin arms, a traditional lye coating, a finish of coarse-ground sea salt, and cold, salted butter. 

In 2021, Tommy Celt started delivering his sourdough bread to monthly subscribers in between his other baking jobs. When partner Jade Novarino came on board in 2022, Babcia Bread expanded to pop-ups and more. “We love to make art, eat good food, and be in touch with the land and our friends,” Celt says. “Babcia Bread is a way for us to do all of those things.”

Portland baker Anuja Argade’s sweet side hustle started with a cat cafe that ordered weekly feline-themed sugar cookies. “My first were calico cats,” she says. “I fell in love with the process and realized I wanted to hone in on the craft.” Today, the Portland restaurant veteran does business as Critter Cookies PDX, selling her custom cookies and themed cookie boxes from her North Portland home.

In 2022, artist Jordan Mishra Johnson set out to “make a better card game than Pokémon.” The result is Drawn Hungry—a food-themed strategy game inspired by childhood nostalgia and her signature vibrant illustration. Think Apples to Apples meets Chopped. Jordan hopes to bring people together through the joy of delicious design. 

Some know her as Emily Cardinal. Others just call her the egg magnet lady. Based in Southeast Portland, Emily is a ceramic artist creating colorful, functional wares designed to add a bit of delight to the everyday. From mugs and butter dishes to spoon rests and her signature magnets, her work is playful, practical, and full of personality.

Viennoiseries, enriched doughs, and vegan treats: Jess Flores gives Portland credit for her rediscovered love of baking. “Before relocating here a couple years ago, I was ready to leave the baking world behind,” says the Midwestern native and commercial kitchen veteran. “But seeing all the pop-ups, collabs, and creativity here, I’m excited to connect with this community.” 

From classic combinations to innovative twists, Arissara Prapakiet bakes with precision, heart, and a global perspective. A Thai native with a background in strategic marketing and five years as a flight attendant, she had never set foot in a kitchen professionally until her partner requested something sweet to go with her daily coffee. What began as a personal challenge quickly turned into a new passion, fueled by late nights of trial and error. “I use only the best ingredients—just like I would for someone I love,” Arissara says.

When Natty Cakes founder Natalie Brown crafts one of her specialty buttercream wedding cakes, she aims for a clean, minimalist balance “with a feminine touch.” Brown, a recent Bay Area transplant, has baked professionally since the age of 16. After earning a business degree in college, she launched Natty Cakes at local farmers’ markets before a recent move to Portland with her husband and four-year-old son. Brown is inspired by cake makers all over the world. 

Laina Yoswein sometimes incorporates Korean flavors and ingredients into her baked goods. But whatever the Omija Home Bakes founder daydreams up on a given day, it's always personal. “This is my love letter to the magic of home baking and shared moments of sweetness,” she says. “I'm a proud self-taught home baker, and I always have at least four baking books on my nightstand.”

The problem: Nicole Markowitz needed to get grumpy employees to show up for a weekly workshop. The answer—baked goods of ever-increasing creativity—set the Origin Bakehouse founder on the path to kolache perfection. But this story starts even earlier. “Growing up in an Italian/Jewish household,” Markowitz says, “food and cooking were a way of life. I have vivid memories of making homemade pizza with my Italian grandmother and rugelach with my Jewish grandmother.” 

Buckwheat cake with ginger rhubarb compote and mascarpone, hazelnut cake with macerated blackberries and creme fraiche—Erin Sosnowchik is a proud “pastry nerd” who walks the line between sweet and savory flavors. The Tabor Bread manager and pastry chef launched Riley Seasonal Cakes this winter as a new outlet for her creativity. “I’ve come to realize just how important whole grains and local agriculture are to me,” says the Midwest native.

At age 14, Samantha Romanowski would watch her first employer, a restaurant owner in upstate New York, score and slide baguettes into a deck oven. She couldn’t wait to grab one and “slather it with butter.” Fast forward 20 years (and a career as a holistic nutritionist) and the self-taught baker is sharing her own “rustic and homestyle comfort carbs” every Saturday at the Oregon City Farmers Market.

Sometimes Sophia Illk Jackson goes 100 percent rye, like with her Danish Rugbrød. Sometimes the rye factor is lighter—take her Swedish cardamom buns and ginger molasses cookies. But ever since childhood, when her godfather Dennis introduced her to the classic Scandinavian open-faced sandwich, the Toothbutter founder has loved the spicy cereal grain. This passion grew during Illk Jackson’s time at Kachka, where her baking skills expanded to “even darker and more mysterious Russian and Baltic breads.”